Sign up to receive free email alerts when patent applications with chosen keywords are publishedSIGN UP

Abstract:

A liquid crystal display is disclosed which comprises a first substrate
and a second substrate, which are supported by primary spacers. At least
a secondary spacer is provided on the first substrate, and the secondary
spacer is covered by a conductive electrode. An X-direction detecting
wire and a Y-direction detecting wire perpendicular to each other are
provided on the second substrate, the X-direction detecting wire and the
Y-direction detecting wire are respectively provided with a first
connection electrode and a second connection electrode; and positions of
the first and second connection electrodes on the second substrate
correspond to a position of the secondary spacer on the first substrate;
under a press condition, at least one of the first and second connection
electrodes contacts with the secondary spacer and is connected with the
conductive electrode on the secondary spacer.

Claims:

1. A liquid crystal display panel comprising: a first substrate, and a
second substrate, the first substrate and the second substrate being
supported by primary spacers, wherein at least a secondary spacer is
provided on the first substrate, and the secondary spacer is covered by a
conductive electrode; an X-direction detecting wire and a Y-direction
detecting wire perpendicular to each other are provided on the second
substrate, the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction detecting
wire are respectively provided with a first connection electrode and a
second connection electrode, which are electrically separated, at an
intersection of the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction
detecting wire; and positions of the first and second connection
electrodes on the second substrate correspond to a position of the
secondary spacer on the first substrate; under a natural condition, the
first and second connection electrodes on the second substrate do not
contact with the secondary spacer on the first substrate, and under a
press condition, at least one of the first and second connection
electrodes on the second substrate contacts with the secondary spacer on
the first substrate and is connected with the conductive electrode on the
secondary spacer.

2. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the
first substrate is further provided with a common electrode, and the
common electrode is connected with the conductive electrode on the
secondary spacer.

3. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the
height of the secondary spacer is less than that of the primary spacers.

4. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein the
second substrate comprises a black matrix, and the X-direction detecting
wire and the Y-direction detecting wire are located at an area of the
black matrix on the second substrate,

5. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 4, wherein the
intersection of the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction
detecting wire is not covered by the black matrix.

6. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 4, wherein the
X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction detecting wire are
separated by an insulation layer, and at the intersection the X-direction
detecting wire and the Y-direction detecting wire are not connected.

7. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein an
X-direction sensor connected with the X-direction detecting wire and a
Y-direction sensor connected with the Y-direction detecting wire are
provided on the periphery of the second substrate.

8. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 7, wherein a touch
driving circuit connected with the X-direction sensor and the Y-direction
sensor is further provided.

9. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein in the
press condition, the first and second connection electrodes on the second
substrate contact with the secondary spacer on the first substrate and
connected with each other through the conductive electrode on the
secondary spacer.

10. The liquid crystal display panel according to claim 1, wherein at
least one of the first connection electrode and the second connection
electrode is in a form of via hole.

Description:

[0001] BACKGROUND

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a liquid crystal display panel
and a liquid crystal display.

[0003] In conventional technology, in order to realize the touch
functionality of a liquid crystal display (LCD), one of the
implementation manners is to attach a film having touch functionality on
an LCD panel (that is, touch film on panel). Since it is necessary to
attach a film on a substrate of the panel, such an implementation manner
results in a decrease of transmittance of the LCD panel, which in turn
impacts the technical properties, such as brightness of a displayed
picture, contrast or the like, and also decreases the sharpness of the
displayed picture. In addition, attaching the touch film can also
increase the thickness and the weight of the LCD panel, increase the
complexity of the manufacturing process of the LCD, and increase
production costs. Also, the life span of the externally exposed touch
film can be influenced by the external environment.

[0004] In conventional technology, in order to realize the touch
functionality of an LCD, another implementation manner is to adopt a
touch technology of in-cell type, that is, the structure to obtain the
functionality of touch detection is provided within the cell of the
liquid crystal panel. Because the existing in-cell touch technology needs
to incorporate circuit structures on an array substrate, the difficulty
of wiring is increased, and the pixel aperture ratio is decreased,
disadvantageously influencing the brightness of the LCD panel. The
so-called pixel aperture ratio refers to the ratio of the area of each
pixel other than the wiring portion and the transistor portion (typically
shielded by a black matrix) through which light can pass for display to
the total area of each pixel. The higher the pixel aperture ratio is, the
higher the efficiency of light transmission can be obtained.

[0005] Thus, it can be seen that the conventional technology to realize
the touch functionality of an LCD can result in a decrease of the
technical properties, such as the brightness, contrast, pixel aperture
ratio, or the like, and thus it is disadvantageous in improving the
performance of the LCD panel.

SUMMARY

[0006] An embodiment of the disclosed technology provides an LCD panel
with respect to the problem of the decrease of the technical properties,
such as brightness, contrast, pixel aperture ratio or the like, of the
LCD panel, which is caused for realizing the touch functionality of the
LCD panel.

[0007] An aspect of the disclose technology provides a liquid crystal
display panel comprising: a first substrate, and a second substrate, the
first substrate and the second substrate being supported by primary
spacers, wherein at least a secondary spacer is provided on the first
substrate, and the secondary spacer is covered by a conductive electrode;
an X-direction detecting wire and a Y-direction detecting wire
perpendicular to each other are provided on the second substrate, the
X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction detecting wire are
respectively provided with a first connection electrode and a second
connection electrode, which are electrically separated, at an
intersection of the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction
detecting wire; and positions of the first and second connection
electrodes on the second substrate correspond to a position of the
secondary spacer on the first substrate; under a natural condition, the
first and second connection electrodes on the second substrate do not
contact with the secondary spacer on the first substrate, and under a
press condition, at least one of the first and second connection
electrodes on the second substrate contacts with the secondary spacer on
the first substrate and is connected with the conductive electrode on the
secondary spacer.

[0008] In one embodiment, the first substrate is further provided with a
common electrode, and the common electrode is connected with the
conductive electrode on the secondary spacer.

[0009] In one embodiment, the height of the secondary spacer is less than
that of the primary spacer.

[0010] In one embodiment, the X-direction detecting wire and the
Y-direction detecting wire are located at an area of a black matrix on
the second substrate.

[0011] In one embodiment, the intersection of the X-direction detecting
wire and the Y-direction detecting wire is not covered by the black
matrix.

[0012] In one embodiment, the X-direction detecting wire and the
Y-direction detecting wire are separated by an insulation layer, and the
intersection of the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction
detecting wire is not connected.

[0013] In one embodiment, an X-direction sensor connected with the
X-direction detecting wire and a Y-direction sensor connected with the
Y-direction detecting wire are provided on the periphery of the second
substrate.

[0014] In one embodiment, a touch driving circuit connecting the
X-direction sensor and the Y-direction sensor is further provided.

[0015] In one embodiment, in the press condition, the first and second
connection electrodes on the second substrate contact with the secondary
spacer on the first substrate and connected with each other through the
conductive electrode on the secondary spacer.

[0016] In one embodiment, at least one of the first connection electrode
and the second connection electrode is in a form of via hole.

[0017] Another aspect of the disclosed technology provides a liquid
crystal display, and this liquid crystal display comprises one embodiment
of the above-described liquid crystal panel.

[0018] Compared with the conventional technology of touch-film-on-panel,
the embodiment of the liquid crystal display provided by the present
disclosure can eliminate the process for attaching a touch-screen film,
such that the production cost is decreased, the thickness and the weight
of the LCD panel is decreased, the degree of integration of the product
is improved, the technical properties, such as transmittance, brightness,
contrast and the like, of the LCD panel can be improved, the sharpness of
the displayed picture is improved, and thus the performance of the LCD
panel is improved. Compared with the conventional in-cell technical
solution, in the embodiment the disclosed technology, the complexity of
wiring is low, the process difficulty also become relatively lower,
thereby the production cost is decreased, and the aperture ratio of pixel
is increased, and thus the performance of the LCD panel is improved.

[0019] Further scope of applicability of the disclosed technology will
become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,
it should be understood that the detailed description and specific
examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosed
technology, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes
and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosed technology
will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following
detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The disclosed technology will become more fully understood from the
detailed description given hereinafter and the accompanying drawings
which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative
of the disclosed technology and wherein:

[0021] FIG. 1 is a first schematic view of the second substrate surface
structure in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 2 is a second schematic view of the second substrate surface
structure in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the second substrate and
the first substrate in an embodiment of the present disclosure, taken
along the line A-A' in FIG. 2; and

[0024]FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a substrate and its peripheral
components in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Hereinafter, a further detailed description will be made for the
technical solutions of the disclosed technology in conjunction with the
accompany drawings and the specific embodiments.

[0026] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a structure of an
LCD panel which can be integrated with a touch-screen functionality
inside a liquid crystal cell. The panel comprises a first substrate
(e.g., an array substrate) and a second substrate (e.g., a color-filter
substrate). The array substrate comprises a pixel array composed of a
number of pixel units, and at the peripheral of the pixel array are
provided with driving circuits (drivers), such as a data driving circuit,
a gate driving circuit, and so on. The color-filter (CF) substrate
comprises a color-filer array composed of color film photoresists of
different colors, for example. The color film photoresist units in the
color-filer array correspond to the pixel units of the pixel array on the
array substrate. A kind of typical color film photoresist arrangement
comprises a red color film photoresist (R color-filter), a green color
film photoresist (G color-filter) and a blue color film photoresist (B
color-filter). In addition, between the array substrate and the CF
substrate, there are provided primary spacers to support the substrates
to maintain a cell gap. One end of each primary spacer is provided on one
of the color-filter substrate and the array substrate, and the other end
of the primary spacer contacts with the other of the color-filter
substrate and the array substrate.

[0027] In the structure of the embodiment of the present disclosure, there
are provided secondary spacers on the array substrate, the height of
which secondary spacers is less than that of the primary spacers, and the
secondary spacers are covered by a conductive electrode to provide a
conductive surface. For example, indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc
oxide (IZO) can be adopted to form the conductive electrodes on the
secondary spacers, and ITO is a transparent conductive material used to
realize conductivity. The conductive electrode can be formed of a metal
material. On the CF substrate there are provided at least an X-direction
(e.g., longitudinal direction) detecting wire and at least a Y-direction
(e.g., transverse direction) detecting wire which are perpendicular to
each other. On the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction
detecting wire, there are provided a first and second connection
electrodes, respectively. The connection electrode can be in the form of
via hole covered by a conductive electrode, such as an ITO electrode or a
metal electrode, and the disclosed technology is not limited thereto. The
positions of the connection electrodes of the detecting wires on the CF
substrate and the positions of the secondary spacers on the array
substrate correspond to each other. Under a natural condition, the
connection electrodes on the CF substrate and the corresponding secondary
spacer on the array substrate do not come into contact with each other;
under the press condition in which the panel is pressed by an user for
example, the at least one of the first and second connection electrodes
on the CF substrate contact with the corresponding secondary spacer on
the array substrate, or further both the first connection electrode of
the X-direction detecting wire and the second connection electrode of the
Y-direction detecting wire are electrically connected with the secondary
spacer and thus connected with each other.

[0028] In addition, on the array substrate there is provided a common
electrode, the conductive electrode on the secondary spacer is connected
with the common electrode.

[0029] In a panel structure of the embodiment of the present disclosure,
when an external force is exerted on the CF substrate (e.g., touched by a
user), the CF substrate is deformed, and the ITO electrode on the
secondary spacer on the array substrate (connected with the common
electrode and being at a voltage equivalent to the common voltage)
contacts the ITO electrodes at the via holes on the CF substrate (i.e.,
contacts the X-direction detecting wire and the Y-direction detecting
wire that cross each other), such that the X-direction detecting wire or
the Y-direction detecting wire or both are electrically connected with
the conductive electrode of the secondary spacer and applied with a
voltage, and the voltage of the X-direction detecting wire or the
Y-direction detecting wire are changed. By collecting the electric
signals on the CF substrate, the position of the touch can be detected
and determined.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, which is a schematic view 1 of the CF substrate
surface structure in an embodiment of the present disclosure, on the CF
substrate, the R color-filters 11, the G color-filters 12, and the B
color-filters 13 form an array distribution defined by a black matrix
(BM) 14, and in the area of the black matrix 14 of the CF substrate,
there are arranged at least an X-direction detecting wire 15 and at least
a Y-direction detecting wire 16 which are perpendicular to and crossed
with each other. The X-direction detecting wire 15 and the Y-direction
detecting wire 16 are arranged in the area of the black matrix 14, and
therefore do not influence the displaying effect of the liquid crystal
panel. The X-direction detecting wire 15 and the Y-direction detecting
wire 16 are perpendicular to each other, but do not connect with each
other. In an example, at the intersection of the X-direction detecting
wire 15 and the Y-direction detecting wire 16, there are no black matrix
14, R color-filter 11, G color-filter 12, and B color-filter 13.

[0031] Further, as shown in FIG. 2, which is a schematic view 2 of the CF
substrate surface structure in the embodiment of the present disclosure,
the X-direction detecting wire 15 and the Y-direction detecting wire 16
are separated by an insulation layer, and there is no connection at the
intersection between the X-direction detecting wire 15 and the
Y-direction detecting wire 16. On each of the X-direction detecting wire
15 and the Y-direction detecting wire 16 there is provided a connection
electrode in a form of via hole 18. The via hole 18 is covered with an
ITO electrode, for example. The ITO electrodes respectively covering the
X-direction detecting wire 15 and the Y-direction detecting wire 16 are
indicated with the numeral 171 in FIG. 2. Provision of ITO electrodes is
to realize electric connection of the X-direction detecting wire 15 and
the Y-direction detecting wire 16 when coming into contact with the ITO
electrode of the corresponding secondary spacer on the array substrate.

[0032] Hereinafter, in conjunction with the schematic view shown in FIG.
3, a further detailed description will be made for the inner structure of
an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional
view of the CF substrate and the array substrate taken along the line
A-A' in FIG. 2 (the array substrate is located under the CF substrate in
FIG. 2). As can be seen from FIG. 3, in the area of the BM 14 of the CF
substrate 21, there are arranged the X-direction detecting wire 15 and
the Y-direction detecting wire 16 which are perpendicular to each other.
On the X-direction detecting wire 15 and the Y-direction detecting wire
16, there is formed a via hole 18, respectively. Thereafter, on the CF
substrate 21 provided with the via hole 18, an ITO layer is deposited,
and the ITO electrode 171 is allowed to blanket the via hole 18. The
blank area between the X-direction detecting wire 15 and the Y-direction
detecting wire 16 is an insulation layer in the drawing. It should be
noted that, the portion designated by the numeral 31 in FIG. 3 is not a
part of the Y-direction detecting wire 16 but a light blocking strip to
block light. The portion designated by the numeral 32 in FIG. 3 is not a
part of the X-direction detecting wire 15 but a light blocking strip to
block light.

[0033] An exemplary manufacturing process of the CF substrate 21 comprises
the following steps: performing depositing/coating, exposing, etching,
photoresist removing, cleaning and the like to form the Y-direction wire
16, the insulation layer, the X-direction wire 15, the black matrix 14,
the R/G/B color film photoresists, the via holes 18, the ITO layer in
this order on a supporting substrate (e.g., a glass substrate or a
plastic substrate), thereby obtaining the structure of the CF substrate
21 shown in FIG. 3.

[0034] On the array substrate 22 there are provided primary spacers (not
shown) and secondary spacers 19, and each of the secondary spacers 19 is
covered by the ITO electrode 172. The position of the via hole 18 on the
CF substrate 21 and the position of the corresponding secondary spacer 19
on the array substrate 22 correspond to each other. Under a natural
condition, the via hole 18 on the CF substrate 21 and the corresponding
secondary spacer 19 on the array substrate 22 do not come into contact
with each other. In addition, in an example, on the secondary spacer 19
there is further provided a via hole 24, and the via hole 24 is also
covered by the ITO electrode 172. On the array substrate 22 there is also
provided a common electrode 23, and the ITO electrode 172 at the via hole
24 of the secondary spacer 19 is connected with a common electrode 23.

[0035] An exemplary manufacturing process of the array substrate 22
comprises the following steps: performing depositing/coating, exposing,
etching, photoresist removing, cleaning and the like to create a gate
layer, a gate insulation layer, an a-Si semiconductor layer, a
source/drain layer, an inactivate layer, a spacer, a via hole 24, an ITO
layer in this order on a supporting substrate (e.g., a glass substrate or
a plastic substrate), thereby obtaining the structure of the array
substrate 22 shown in FIG. 3.

[0036] A schematic view of the substrates according to the embodiment of
the present disclosure and their peripheral components is shown in FIG.
4. At the periphery (e.g., one side) of the CF substrate and the array
substrate, there are provided a data driving circuit 41 and a gate
driving circuit 42. In addition, there are also provided an X-direction
sensor (detector) 43 connected with the X-direction detecting wire, and a
Y-direction sensor (detector) 44 connected with the Y-direction detecting
wire. A touch driving circuit (not shown in the drawing) connected with
the X-direction sensor 43 and the Y-direction sensor 44 is also comprised
in the structure of the present disclosure.

[0037] In conjunction with the schematic views of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, when
an external force is exerted on the CF substrate 21 (e.g., touched by a
user), the CF substrate 21 is deformed, and the ITO electrode 172 of the
secondary spacer 19 on the array substrate 22 (e.g., connected with the
common electrode 23 and at a voltage equivalent to the common voltage)
contacts the ITO electrode 171 at the corresponding via hole 18 on the CF
substrate 21 (i.e., indirectly contacts the X-direction detecting wire 15
and/or the Y-direction detecting wire 16), such that the X-direction
detecting wire 15 and/or the Y-direction detecting wire 16 are
electrically connected with the ITO electrode 172 and applied with a
voltage (energized), such that the voltage of the X-direction detecting
wire 15 and/or the Y-direction detecting wire 16 is changed, which change
in voltage can be sensed by the X-direction sensor 43 and/or the
Y-direction sensor 44, and reported to that touch driving circuit. The
touch point is determined by the touch driving circuit.

[0038] It should be noted that, one secondary spacer 19 allows the
corresponding X-direction detecting wire 15 and/or Y-direction detecting
wire 16 to be energized (the secondary spacer 19 in FIG. 3 allows the
corresponding Y-direction detecting wire 16 and the corresponding
X-direction detecting wire 15 to be energized). Of course, one secondary
spacer 19 can also allow only one detecting wire to be energized, that
is, the position of the via hole of the detecting wire are provided at a
relatively low density, not as relatively closer to each other as shown
in FIG. 3. When the CF substrate 21 is touched by a user, the contact
area with the CF substrate 21 by the user is much larger than the area of
the substrate corresponding to one secondary spacer 19. Among the
plurality of secondary spacers 19, there existed some secondary spacers
19 to allow the Y-direction detecting wire 16 to be energized, and some
secondary spacer 19 to allow the X-direction detecting wires 15 to be
energized. The voltage change on the X-direction detecting wire 15 and
the Y-direction detecting wire 16 can allow the X-direction sensor 43 and
the Y-direction sensor 44 to be detected, and the results are reported to
the touch driving circuit. With the voltage change of X-direction and
Y-direction, the touch point is allowed to be determined accurately.

[0039] There is provided a structure of a liquid crystal display panel
with touch-screen functionality according to one embodiment of the
present disclosure, which is used to incorporate a touch detection
structure the inside of the liquid crystal cell of the panel by the
improvements to the array substrate and the CF substrate, thus a
touch-screen functionality integrated inside a liquid crystal cell is
realized. The panel can be used for the displays for mobile phones,
computer, TV set, and so on.

[0040] Compared with the conational technologies of touch-film-on-panel,
the embodiments of the present disclosure can eliminate the process for
attaching touch-screen film, such that the production cost can be
decreased, the thickness and the weight of the LCD panel is decreased,
the degree of integrity of the product is improved, the technical
properties, such as transmittance, brightness, contrast and the like, of
the LCD panel is improved, the sharpness of the displayed picture is
improved, and thus the performance of the LCD panel is improved. Compared
with the conventional in-cell technology, the complexity of wiring become
low, the process difficulty is also relatively lower, thereby the
production cost is decreased, and the aperture ratio of pixel can be
increased, and thus the performance of the LCD panel is improved.

[0041] The embodiments described above are only exemplar embodiments of
the present disclosure, and not intended to limit the protection scope of
the present disclosure.

[0042] The embodiment of the disclosed technology being thus described, it
will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations
are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the
disclosed technology, and all such modifications as would be obvious to
those skilled in the art are intended to be comprised within the scope of
the following claims.